ALBANY, N.Y. - Syracuse’s second exhibition wasn’t a runaway, and it wasn’t supposed to be. But against Siena on Sunday at MVP Arena, the Orange got more than a tuneup. They got a reunion, a real test, and a game that stayed on edge far longer than a Power Four team would prefer.
The result was a slim 81-76 Syracuse win, but the Saints made the Orange work for every inch. Syracuse played without Temple transfer Aiden Tobiason, who was injured against UConn, and spent most of the afternoon locked into a back-and-forth battle before finally nudging ahead for good late.
Before the first tip, Siena recognized head coach Gerry McNamara and three former Saints now with Syracuse - Gavin Doty, Tasman Goodrick and Francis Folefac - with a pregame ceremony honoring the group’s Metro Atlantic Conference title run and their NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Duke. The crowd showed plenty of appreciation for the visitors, especially Doty, Goodrick and Folefac, as the home program paused to celebrate its 2025-26 campaign.
Once the game started, the nostalgia gave way to a tight, competitive afternoon.
Doty, who played for Siena before following McNamara to Syracuse, endured a rough opening minute when he turned the ball over right away. He settled in quickly, though, first hitting a corner 3-pointer a little more than five minutes in and then drilling another on SU’s next trip to trim the gap to one.
He stayed in the middle of everything from there, giving Syracuse a steady scoring presence in a first half where the Orange needed it. By halftime, he had a team-high nine points.
He finished with 20 points in 37 minutes, along with plenty of postgame-friendly interaction with Siena fans.
Goodrick didn’t get on the floor in the first half. Folefac saw six minutes and missed both of his shot attempts.
Syracuse also got the debut it had been waiting for from Mark Morano. The Slovenian wing, who missed the first exhibition with an injury, entered at the 14:15 mark of the first half and quickly made his presence felt.
After Siena left him open near the top of the key, Morano buried a 3-pointer less than two minutes after checking in. He was careless with the ball a couple of times early, but the shotmaking came with it.
Morano found his rhythm again in the second half, with Ryan Moesch setting him up for another 3 that stretched Syracuse’s lead to 13. He kept firing, added another triple for a 10-point cushion, and later connected from the corner to keep the Orange moving. Morano finished with 18 points and also flashed more than just shooting, capping the night with a driving dunk in the closing minutes.
Moesch, meanwhile, gave Syracuse a spark off the bench when the offense looked flat early. The freshman guard came in with the Orange trailing by six and immediately changed the pace.
He handed out two assists right away, hit a corner 3 to tie the game at 19, and kept Siena chasing with a series of aggressive plays. He used a behind-the-back dribble on a fast break before drawing a foul on a mid-range try, then later stepped into a step-back 3 to cut the deficit to one.
His energy stayed contagious into the second half. On one possession, he sliced through the defense and found Morano in the corner for the wing’s fourth 3-pointer.
Moesch celebrated with him after the make, raising his hands and bumping chests. McNamara also had to stop him later after a missed driving layup to offer some instruction on the fly.
Moesch finished with 11 points, five assists and six rebounds in 28 minutes, though he shot 3-for-10.
The game never turned into the mismatch Syracuse might have hoped for against a mid-major opponent. Siena kept pressing, kept running and kept answering. The Orange led by one at halftime, then finally created some separation when Garwey Dual scored six quick points to help build a 51-42 edge with 15:16 left.
Even then, Siena refused to fade. The Saints pulled the margin back into single digits and eventually cut it to five, drawing the crowd to its feet.
Luke Wilson answered that push with a dunk for Syracuse, but the Saints still hung around. They were within four with less than four minutes remaining, then within three in the final two minutes during a 9-2 run.
That was as close as they got. Wilson missed a back-down layup, Reid Ducharme missed a 3 on the other end, and Doty went to the line with the crowd booing loudly. He made both free throws, and Syracuse was able to close it out from the stripe.
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